January 26, 1998
Dear Colleague:
This year we commemorate National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) with the
theme: Victims' Rights: Right for America. As communities and states across the
land prepare for the 18th observance of NCVRW during the week of April 19-25, it is
good to pause and reflect upon the simple and yet very profound truth expressed with
this theme. In the decades since the victims' movement was launched, we have gained
victory after victory -- some large and some very small -- and we have won these
victories with the sweat and pain that comes with working for what is right. Today,
crime victims are entitled to greater rights than ever before and our message is
reaching throughout the country and, indeed, the world. Here in the United States, the
fight for victims' rights has progressed to the very pinnacle of legal protection --
consideration of a federal constitutional amendment for victims of crime.
As we join together to honor victims and their advocates, let us remember and rekindle
our belief in the rightness of our ongoing efforts to support and assist crime victims.
While the pain of victimization and injustice continues to darken lives everywhere,
there remains an unyielding beacon of hope that lights the way to fairness and justice.
Each and every day, thousands of people all over this country fight for what is right for
America -- comprehensive rights and services for innocent victims of crime -- and they
show us, with their courage and perseverance, that the pathway to justice begins with
each of us.
VALOR, the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc., is pleased to have the
opportunity to produce the 1998 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide
with the support of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. This
Resource Guide contains a variety of materials that will assist you in planning your
community and statewide activities to commemorate NCVRW. To produce this
Guide, VALOR tapped the outstanding talents of consultants Christine Edmunds, Anne
Seymour and Jann Taylor. For their assistance, we are very grateful.
Let us celebrate our victories, and in doing so, let us redouble our efforts to ensure just
treatment for those who are victimized by crime. We commend you for your
dedication and hard work and we are grateful for everything you do to light the way to
justice for crime victims and for us all.
Sincerely,
Eric Smith Morna A. Murray
President Executive Director